MEMORIAL OF SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, BISHOP AND MARTYR – FEAST DAY ~ OCTOBER 17TH: Today, we pray for the safety, we especially pray for the repose of the souls of all those who have lost their lives and we continue to pray for the gentle repose of the souls of all the faithful departed, may the Lord receive them into the light of Eternal Kingdom. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their gentle souls and souls of all the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in perfect peace with our Lord Jesus Christ… Amen 🙏 ✝️🕯✝️🕯✝️🕯
On this day, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Antioch, Bishop and Martyr. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and the Saints on this feast day, we humbly pray for God’s Divine Grace and Mercy upon us all. We pray for the sick and dying, especially those who are mentally and physically ill, throat diseases, and those suffering from cancers and other terminal diseases. We pray for peace, love, and unity in our marriages, our families and our world. We pray for the poor, the needy and the most vulnerable. We pray for the souls in Purgatory and the repose of the souls of the faithful departed. We pray for all widows and widowers. And we continue to pray for our Holy Father, the Bishops, the Clergy, for vocations to the priesthood and religious life, for the Church, for persecuted christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world…. Amen🙏
SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH, BISHOP AND MARTYR: St. Ignatius (d. c. 98-117) also known as Ignatius Theophorus is one of the great bishops of the early Church and a disciple of St. John the Apostle. He was the successor of St. Peter as Bishop of Antioch. St. Ignatius of Antioch was born in Syria in the middle of the first century A.D. Tradition holds that he was the infant whom Jesus took in His arms, saying, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me” as recounted in Mark’s Gospel. St. Ignatius was a Syrian pagan convert to Christianity and succeeded St. Peter the Apostle as the third bishop of Antioch, being ordained by St. Peter himself. St. John Chrysostom says that St. Peter appointed St. Ignatius as Bishop of Antioch, which See he governed for forty years. St. Ignatius is said to have been personally instructed – along with another future martyr, Saint Polycarp – by the Apostle Saint John. When St. Ignatius became the Bishop of Antioch around the year 70, he assumed leadership of a local church that was, according to tradition, first led by Saint Peter before his move to Rome. St. Ignatius was an important Church Father of the Apostolic age, an ideal pastor, and a fearless soldier of Christ. He was tireless in supporting his flock against dangerous heresies and the terrors of the persecutions of the Roman Emperors. Although St. Peter transmitted his Papal primacy to the bishops of Rome rather than Antioch, the city played an important role in the life of the early Church. Located in present-day Turkey, it was a chief city of the Roman Empire, and was also the location where the believers in Jesus’ teachings and his resurrection were first called “Christians.”
St. Ignatius led the Christians of Antioch during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian, the first of the emperors to proclaim his divinity by adopting the title “Lord and God.” Subjects who would not give worship to the emperor under this title could be punished with death. As the leader of a major Catholic diocese during this period, St. Ignatius showed courage and worked to inspire it in others. After Domitian’s murder in the year 96, his successor Nerva reigned only briefly, and was soon followed by the Emperor Trajan. Under Trajan rule, Christians were once again liable to death for denying the pagan state religion and refusing to participate in its rites. St. Ignatius longed to shed his blood for Christ, but the opportunity was not granted him during the persecution under Domitian. While the short reign of Nerva lasted the Church was at peace, but under Trajan persecution broke out anew. It was during Trajan’s reign that St. Ignatius was convicted for his Christian testimony and sent from Syria to Rome to be put to death. In the year 107, Emperor Trajan visited Antioch and forced the Christians there to choose between death and apostasy. St. Ignatius would not deny Christ and he was seized and brought before the Emperor. Having confessed Christ, he was condemned to be taken in chains to Rome, there to be exposed to the wild beasts and put to death in Rome.
Escorted by a team of military guards, St. Ignatius nonetheless managed to compose seven letters and he is well known for these seven magnificent letters he wrote on the long journey from Antioch to Rome, which we still have today, concerning the Person of Christ, his love for Christ, his desire for martyrdom and on the constitution of the Church and Christian life. Six of the seven letters were to various local churches throughout the empire (including the Church of Rome), and one to his fellow bishop Polycarp who would give his own life for Christ several decades later. Five of the seven letters are to churches in Asia Minor; they urge the Christians there to remain faithful to God and to obey their superiors. He warns them against heretical doctrines, providing them with the solid truths of the Christian faith. The sixth letter was to Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, who was later martyred for the faith. The final letter begs the Christians in Rome not to try to stop his martyrdom. “The only thing I ask of you is to allow me to offer the libation of my blood to God. I am the wheat of the Lord; may I be ground by the teeth of the beasts to become the immaculate bread of Christ.” St. Ignatius’ letters passionately stressed the importance of Church unity, the dangers of heresy, and the surpassing importance of the Eucharist as the “medicine of immortality.” These writings contain the first surviving written description of the Church as “Catholic,” from the Greek word indicating both universality and fullness. One of the most striking features of St. Ignatius’ letters, is his enthusiastic embrace of martyrdom as a means to union with God and eternal life. “All the pleasures of the world, and all the kingdoms of this earth, shall profit me nothing,” he wrote to the Church of Rome. “It is better for me to die on behalf of Jesus Christ, than to reign over all the ends of the earth.” “Now I begin to be a disciple,” the bishop declared. “Let fire and the cross; let the crowds of wild beasts; let tearings, breakings, and dislocations of bones; let cutting off of members; let shatterings of the whole body; and let all the dreadful torments of the devil come upon me: only let me attain to Jesus Christ.”
During this last journey he was welcomed by the faithful of Smyrna, Troas, and other places along the way. The Saint arrived in Rome just as the public spectacles in the amphitheater were drawing to a close. The faithful of the city came out to meet him. St. Ignatius of Antioch bore witness to Christ publicly for the last time in Rome’s Flavian Amphitheater, where he was at once hurried to the amphitheater and bravely met the lions in the Circus Maximus where two fierce lions immediately devoured him. “I am the wheat of the Lord,” he had declared, before facing them. “I must be ground by the teeth of these beasts to be made the pure bread of Christ.” St. Ignatius ended his saintly life by a glorious death, exclaiming, “May I become agreeable bread to the Lord.” His remains were carried to Antioch, where they were interred. In the reign of Theodosius (379-395) they were transferred to a church within the city. At present they are venerated in Rome. St. Ignatius memory was honored, and his bones venerated, soon after his death around the year 107. St. Ignatius of Antioch is the first to have used the term “Catholic” Church, meaning “Universal.” St. Ignatius is the Patron Saint of the Church in eastern Mediterranean; Church in North Africa; throat diseases. His feast day is October 17th.
SAINT IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH QUOTES AND SAYINGS:
☆“Pray as if God will take care of all; act as if all is up to you.”
☆”Do not have Jesus Christ on your lips, and the world in your heart.”
☆“It is impossible for a man to be freed from the habit of sin before he hates it, just as it is impossible to receive forgiveness before confessing his trespasses…”
☆“Be careful, therefore, to take part only in the one Eucharist; for there is only one Flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup to unite us with His Blood.”
☆”I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.”
☆”It is not that I want merely to be called a Christian, but to actually be one. Yes, if I prove to be one, then I can have the name…Come fire, cross, battling with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of limbs, crushing of my whole body, cruel tortures of the Devil–Only let me get to Jesus Christ!”
PRAYER: Saint Ignatius of Antioch, your courageous acceptance of your impending martyrdom was an inspiration to your fellow Christians then and remains an inspiration today. Give all who seek your intercession just a small portion of your steely courage in the face of real danger…. Amen.
Almighty and ever-living God, You adorn the body of Your holy Church with the witness of Your Martyrs. Grant that the sufferings of St. Ignatius on this day that brought unending glory to him may bring us perpetual protection. Amen 🙏